The Auroras of Autumn
Encyclopedia
The Auroras of Autumn is a 1950 book of poetry by Wallace Stevens
. It features the 1948 Stevens poem of the same name, whose title refers to the Aurora Borealis, or the "Northern Lights", in the fall. The book collects 32 Stevens poems written between 1947 and 1950, and was his last collection before his 1954 Collected Poems.
"The Auroras of Autumn" is a 240-line poem divided into ten sections of 24 lines each. It is considered one of Stevens' more challenging and "difficult" works, and a classic example of the English Romantic
tradition.
Another notable poem in the book is The Owl in the Sarcophagus, an elegy
for Stevens' best friend, Henry Church.
It won the 1951 National Book Award for Poetry
.
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
. It features the 1948 Stevens poem of the same name, whose title refers to the Aurora Borealis, or the "Northern Lights", in the fall. The book collects 32 Stevens poems written between 1947 and 1950, and was his last collection before his 1954 Collected Poems.
"The Auroras of Autumn" is a 240-line poem divided into ten sections of 24 lines each. It is considered one of Stevens' more challenging and "difficult" works, and a classic example of the English Romantic
Romantic poetry
Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
tradition.
Another notable poem in the book is The Owl in the Sarcophagus, an elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
for Stevens' best friend, Henry Church.
It won the 1951 National Book Award for Poetry
National Book Award for Poetry
The National Book Award for Poetry has been given since 1950 and is part of the National Book Awards, which are given annually for outstanding literary works by American citizens...
.
External links
- Review of The Auroras of Autumn in The New York Times (September 10, 1950)
- Guest lecture focusing on the poem The Auroras of Autumn (part of Open Yale CoursesOpen Yale CoursesOpen Yale Courses is a project of Yale University to share full video and course materials from its undergraduate courses.Open Yale Courses provides free access to a selection of introductory courses....
).